Organizers of the Great Alaska Craft Beer and Homebrew Festival are concerned that a new, statewide brewers and distillers festival may diminish industry interest and erode the quality of the local event.
The five-hour Alaska Crafted festival will be held outdoors in Anchorage May 21. The Haines event, the state’s oldest beer festival entering its 24th year, is scheduled one week later, May 27-28.
“The (Alaska Crafted) festival will celebrate Alaska brands, bands and artisans with live music, educational seminars and product demonstrations highlighting the emerging craft beverage industry in the state. More than 25 brewers and distillers will showcase as many as 40 Alaska varieties,” according to an event press release.
Jessica Edwards, executive director of the Southeast Alaska State Fair, said she doesn’t expect the new event would impact this year’s festival – as brewers already have committed or expressed intent to come to Haines. Likewise, there shouldn’t be a problem drawing a crowd, as the local event typically sells out and many attendees are from regional hubs like Juneau and Whitehorse, Y.T.
But Edwards and local brewer Paul Wheeler of Haines Brewing Co. say the date of the Anchorage event over time may force brewers, particularly smaller ones, to choose between festivals. “It’s painful timing. It makes it harder for smaller breweries to make two big trips in two weeks,” Edwards said.
The Haines-based, regional state fair organizes the brewfest, and proceeds last year amounted to 22 percent of the fair’s income. The two-day festival also is one of the largest events of the year in Haines, crowding restaurants and filling local motels and campgrounds.
Rick Armstrong, owner of Sitka’s Baranof Island Brewing and president of the Brewers Guild of Alaska, said he understands the conflict for smaller brewers. His company has five full-time employees.
“I definitely hear you. I’m one of those guys (who will have to choose.) But I don’t want that to happen. It’s the start of our peak season. It’s going to be a tough choice for a lot of guys,” Armstrong said.
Armstrong said Alaska Crafted next year will be managed by the brewery and distillery guilds, which also will be responsible for setting dates. “I don’t see any reason why we couldn’t revisit those dates next year,” Armstrong said.
Changing that date may be difficult, though. Ryan Makinster, executive director of the 28-member guild, said beginning May 21 there’s a brewery or distillery event every weekend through the summer, and sometimes overlapping ones. “It’s really, really tough. For festivals, we have a three-and-a-half month window.”
When representatives of the brewers’ and distillers’ guilds chose the Alaska Crafted dates late last year, the proximity to the Haines festival wasn’t brought up, said Jennifer Thompson, president of Thompson and Co. Public Relations, one of two Anchorage-based firms organizing Alaska Crafted this year.
Organizers did check the festival schedule to make sure their event wouldn’t be the same weekend as any other, Thompson said. “We pulled up a calendar of all the events around the state and looked for a date that didn’t conflict with anything else.”
Alaska Crafted – boosted by state marketing money through a Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development grant – is aimed at raising awareness of Alaska-crafted products among Alaskans, introducing visitors to those products, and promoting distribution to the Lower 48, Thompson said.
She said breweries not able to attend Alaska Crafted could send beer that would be offered there. “This event is meant to be inclusive of all breweries and distilleries.”
Asked if there might be a better weekend for the Anchorage event, the brewery guild’s Makinster said: “Not that I know of, to be honest with you. I don’t think so.”
Haines brewer Wheeler said a big draw for the Haines festival is that attendees get to meet brewers and sometimes brewery owners. “The festival will change if we don’t get the brewers. We have a nice festival because the brewers come and talk to the crowd about the beer. We’re talking about our craft and showing off our craft. That’s what makes the festival special.”
There are about eight beer festivals in the state, many of them benefitting local nonprofits, like the one in Haines, Wheeler said. Larger breweries can afford to send staff to many of them, but smaller operations must pick and choose between ones to attend, Wheeler said.
Wheeler said he would advocate for a change of date for the Anchorage event. “I’m okay with the concept of the event, but we’ll be working very hard not to have it on this date… It’s disappointing the industry didn’t think it would have an effect on our festival. I can’t go to it. It’s too close to our event. I’m usually getting ready for our festival then.”
On the up side, Wheeler said he has heard some reassurance from a few breweries, including Midnight Sun brewery of Anchorage.
Midnight Sun’s owner, Mark Staples, this week said he would have three or four brewers plus his company’s beer in Haines. “My brewers love that festival.”
Staples said the Alaska Crafted festival appears to be well-organized and will attract brewers, but next year’s event is still very much undecided.
Gretchen Fauske, business development officer for the Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development, declined to say how much money the state had authorized to be spent on Alaska Crafted.
Fauske characterized the state’s involvement as forward-funding the event, with event revenues helping repay the state’s contribution.